This invention pertains to an amusement device, and more particularly, to a throwing/catching device which is especially easy to catch.
To youngsters who are just developing motor control, to youngsters and others who may have some motor control disfunctionality, as well as to many who simply enjoy throwing and catching, it is often difficult and frustrating to try to catch various typically available throwing/catching amusement devices, such as balls, etc.
One of the problems with many conventional throwing/catching devices is that, on impact, they do not absorb much energy, and accordingly, tend to bounce and get away from one's grasp easily. Also, they sometimes hurt to catch. Another problem is that, typically, they do not offer a surface configuration that promotes quick, sure gripping.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a unique amusement (throwing/catching) device which avoids these significant disadvantages in a very practical and satisfactory manner.
More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide such a device which tends to absorb a substantial amount of energy on impact through the act of collapsing, thereby avoiding any tendency to bounce and leap away from one's grip.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type just generally outlined which has a surface characteristic that significantly promotes sure and quick grasping in a catch.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device such that suggested above which has a structure that prevents, because of wind resistance, throwing or hitting it very far, and which also eliminates the possibility of a catch that hurts.
An object related to the object just stated is to provide such a device which is extremely unlikely to break anything on contact.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same takes the form of a plurality of elongate, floppy, elastomeric-like filaments which are somewhat spaghetti-like in aspect, and which are joined in a core region in such a manner that they radiate outwardly, in plural offset planes, in a dense, bushy fashion to create a substantially spherical object. Preferably, the surfaces of these filaments, whether by treatment or just because of the nature of the material used in them, have frictioning characteristics which make them tend to cling to, rather than slide in, a person's hand.
Other objects, and the various important advantages offered by the invention, will now become more fully apparent when the description which follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.